Passed an accident on the way home...take pictures?

Seriously people, if you have no reason to take the pic why would you? Are you really going to pass it around and say look at this? No one is going to use it as "evidence" or anything else. You're just being an asshat.

The only reason I could see taking a snap is if it really has photographic merit, or it's your job. For example, I saw a car on fire when I was a kid and the owners were just causally standing next to it directing traffic like it wasn't a blazing flame about to explode. To me, that would be a cool snap without offending. Other than obvious photographic merit or being your job, I just couldn't justify taking a snap of someones tragedy as there's just no need for it. It would be like running into a funeral home and taking a snap just because you can.

ewheeler20 wrote in post #14813335I keep seeing people use the "maybe my photo will be used as evidence", which seems so HIGHLY HIGHLY unlikely it's almost laughable. There are so many protocols involving photographs and what can and cannot be used in court; just go ask an evidence photographer.

To be honest if you need to tell yourself that, it's probably because your mind is trying to deflect your own selfishness by telling yourself "maybe it'll be used to help convict the wrong-doer"

Convictions in a criminal trial? Not likely.

Use in a civil case? That would be another story.

A classmate had a lawsuit against him thrown out a few years ago because someone had snapped a photo of an accident. Mother of a victim had apparently tried to sue him and a few other people for just "standing around" while they were known trained persons. Lawsuit came sometime after the accident, and there were some confusion among members of the fire department as to where downed lines were in relation to the car. Cell phone photo that someone had snapped clearly showed downed power lines resting directly in the way of a rescue attempt and put an end to the he-said-she-said.

Pretty sure I would never photograph something like this unless I worked for the news. It's like doing things at a grave yard, unless it's visiting those that passed I've always seen it as disrespectful. But just remember that's just how I see it.

Cadenza wrote in post #14812664...Photography is not for "sissies," unless your intention in life is to use your camera only to take pretty pictures, or you think that cameras as a tool were created only to document happy occasions. ..

You might want to cut back on the machismo there. Unless it is one's job, no one is obligated to take photos of anything, and it has nothing to do with being a 'sissy' or not.

American Photography (?) had an interesting article about the photographers who went out after 9/11 and shot body parts in the rubble. Seeing it reminded me of the horror of that day. That was a world-changing event that needed to be documented. Is a car wreck?

I have dealt with a few deaths as a retained firefighter and there is only one person who can say that they are dead or not and thats a Docter so next time help out you never know you could save a life and forget the camera.

fireshot11 wrote in post #14813816... there is only one person who can say that they are dead or not and thats a Docter so next time help out you never know you could save a life and forget the camera.

I would not take pictures. Try to help the people. The Valley Daily News has their own photograpers that they pay.

Ace and Deuce wrote in post #14811631So we were on our way home from the lake tonight and we were passing an accident that probable happened within 5 minutes of our passing. No medical teams were there yet, and it appeared that a woman was killed on a motorcycle. There were about 20 people standing around, no one seemed panicked, no one was trying to help her...she was pretty mangled, and presumably dead (in my eyes). I had my camera with me, but couldn't bring myself to stop for fear of people thinking a was an ignorant turd.

What's the etiquette for something like this? Should/would you stop? I thought having a pic may be useful for some kind of investigation, possibly, but I couldn't get past a possible crowd reaction.

Just to be upfront, I went to journalism school, studied it through and through and have worked with for and along side publication photographers and the like.

Etiquette and ethics are not 1 in the same.

there is a code of ethics, (maybe it was linked i couldn't read this whole thread)

4. Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see.

So in short, does anyone really NEED to see your photos of a dead motorcyclist? You are the only one who can answer that. As long as you follow a simple code you are doing what visual story tellers do, act selfless to represent a moment in time.

For the people saying to help the victim...I have to disagree especially with an accident of this degree. You should never touch/move a victim of an accident like this one. You could potentially do more damage if the person was still alive. There are exceptions, but for the most part calling 911 should be the only thing you do.

To stay on subject, taking a wide angle shot of the scene would be ok. Getting up close would be invading. I personally wouldn't take any pictures.

kriptikracing wrote in post #14813900For the people saying to help the victim...I have to disagree especially with an accident of this degree. You should never touch/move a victim of an accident like this one. You could potentially do more damage if the person was still alive. There are exceptions, but for the most part calling 911 should be the only thing you do.

To stay on subject, taking a wide angle shot of the scene would be ok. Getting up close would be invading. I personally wouldn't take any pictures.

Exactly, and it's for this reason, that i'll never take CPR. Once you have that certification, you're obligated to help at any scene you pass, and if you do something wrong ( ie. move a person improperly, and a nerve in their neck/spine pinches, and they become paralyzed or worse), you can be sued.

In this day and age, everybody sues everybody, and unfortunately.. this is a big part of the reason that people "don't want to get involved" in situations.

1Tanker wrote in post #14814034Exactly, and it's for this reason, that i'll never take CPR. Once you have that certification, you're obligated to help at any scene you pass, and if you do something wrong ( ie. move a person improperly, and a nerve in their neck/spine pinches, and they become paralyzed or worse), you can be sued.

In this day and age, everybody sues everybody, and unfortunately.. this is a big part of the reason that people "don't want to get involved" in situations.

It's September 11, 2001, 8:00a.m. Let's say you have an apartment in NYC that gives you a beautiful view of the World Trade Center towers. You're making a pot of coffee, getting ready for your day as the first plane hits the tower. You're far enough away from any eminent danger...are you snapping pics? The second plane hits...are you still snapping pics? Thousands of Americans are dying, are you taking pics? Are you taking pics as the towers fall? In your pics, are you seeing the people that are jumping from the 100th floor of the building? Would that be wrong, to take pics on the morning of September 11th?

Sure it's not the exact same scenario, but same result.

Let me talk a bit about the accident last night, and why I didn't take pictures. As we drove up the street, the traffic was slowing. It is a 4 lane street, with businesses on each side. As we got near, I could see the motorcycle in a center turning lane, laying on it's side. As we got to within 2-3 car lengths of the bike, traffic was stop & go because people were looking. There were no emergency vehicles present yet, and the sound of sirens had just started. I'm guessing the accident happened 90-120 seconds prior. I was in the inside lane, right next to the bike. I could see the woman's leg up over the bike, and her other twisted underneath, bent backwards. As I started to move past the bike, I could see both of her arms broken backwards, awkwardly behind her back, and her head laid in a pool of blood, no helmet. There was a crowd of people, say 20 or so, yet no one was within 15 feet of the woman, or the bike. It was obvious that she had been killed in the accident. I never saw the other victim, nor the other vehicle involved in the crash. I had my wife, and three kids in the truck (7, 10, and 12 years old). I told my boys not to look out the window, I'm not sure if they did or not.

My thought was, if I was to take photos, move off into a business parking lot, and take pictures of the entire scene from a distance. While I didn't feel I would be in the wrong for taking pics, I didn't feel comfortable either. That's why I said I was on the fence...a part of me wanted to take the pics, and another part of me wouldn't let myself do it.

COOKIES DISCLAIMER: By using this site you agree that some cookies will be stored on your browser. For unlogged users we store one session id cookie. For registered members we store (in addition to login session cookie) only cookies that are essential for required functionality. We do not store any personal tracking data in cookies or other browsers' data storage methods.

version 1.1made in Finlandby Pekka Saarinenfor photography-on-the.net

Spent 0.00233 for 4 database queries. PAGE COMPLETED IN 0.02s

Latest registered member is el lobo962 guests, 965 members onlineSimultaneous users record so far is 3341, that happened on Dec 11, 2014